Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

TEAMS365 #2314 –Monthly KickOff!

5/1/2020

It’s May and it’s time to take stock and pause and welcome in this new month! I’m excited to be back with you with some new posts this month around Teams, Mindset, Planning and Productivity in the remote space from my 2019 workbook planner PlanDoTrack, and also Boosting Connection with Groups, Teams and Communities.

Before we get going, let’s take a pause to reflect on our last month – the month of April:

As you think about April:

What are the top 3 positive highlights from the month for you?
What skills and strengths helped you?
What habits did you lean into?
What did you accomplish?
What distractions got in the way?
What surprized you?
How did you navigate the changes you were faced with?
What projects, tasks and activities are going to carry forward?
What Q2 goals have been achieved? What’s shifted already?
What else is important to note?

As you look ahead to the new month of May:

What are your top 3-5 priorities?
What’s important to take action on and/or wrap up this month?
What key activities are important to put boundaries around?
What distractions do you want to minimize?
What relationships are important to note?
What habits to you want to count on?

What else?

If you have a copy of PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder take note of the metrics you have been tracking in your Monthly Daily Trackers and be sure to complete the Month in Review as well as your Monthly To-Dos, and new month in review.

Enjoy your end of week and reflection!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
Phone (416)996-8326

Get your Q2 planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

TEAMS365 #2161 – Month End Reflection

11/30/2019

Well another month has slipped by and it’s time to focus in on how this last month went. How did the “last mile” of November fare for you? What are you needing to carry forward to the new month?

In this month’s last post of the month, it’s an opportunity to focus in on what you did accomplish and earmark items for the final month of the year. What do you want to and need to pay attention to as you move into the final month of the year?

Here’s several questions to get you thinking about this month end:

What were my major achievements this month?
What “last mile” activities did I get to complete? What’s still on the list to complete before year end?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which ones need to be let go of?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this month?
As a leader, what notes should I make about performance issues (if I haven't done it already!)
The thing that has helped me be most productive this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest this month has been ________
The thing that has helped me be most healthy has been _______

As I think about the summer overall:

My biggest accomplishment has been....
My biggest learning has been....
My ability to flourish has been supported by....
I'm proud of....
The one habit which has really helped me has been...
I want to continue….

Looking ahead to the month of December:

My top 3 -5 goals this month are:
The things I absolutely want to finish are:
My priorities are:
Wild success at the end of the month will look like …. (Yes, this is one of my favorite questions which I ask each month in PlanDoTrack…)
The interruptions and disruptions I want to minimize are….
The habit I want to focus on is…
I want to take daily steps around…
I want to reach out to….
I want to say NO to…
I want to keep an eye on…
I’m excited about….

Enjoy the reflections!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Writing
Phone (416)996-8326

As we step into the end of the year, get your planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder
Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon.

#TEAMS365 #2132 Welcome to November – Reflections as you start the month!

11/1/2019

Welcome to a new month here at the Teams365 blog. Our focus for the month of November is going to be on getting you prepared for year end, navigating disruption, and also continuing with our remote teamwork tips.

Today’s business context can be very volatile. With this in mind, we’re going to focus in on a number of key topics you have probably been hearing about:

VUCA
Focus
Attention
Systems

In addition to this, we’ll explore:

Year End Vision
Year End Team Acknowledgements
Vision for 2020

It’s also the start of the month which means that it’s time to spend a few minutes reviewing October and doing some planning for the month of November.

As you think about October:

What were your main accomplishments?
What skills and strengths helped you?
What distractions got in the way?
What surprized you?
How did you navigate the changes you were faced with?
What projects, tasks and activities are going to carry forward?
What Q4 goals have been achieved? What’s shifted already?
What else is important to note?

As you look ahead to November:

What are your top 3-5 priorities?
What’s important to take action on and wrap up this month?
What key activities are important to put boundaries around?
What distractions do you want to minimize?
What relationships are important to note?
What habits to you want to count on?

What else?

If you have a copy of PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder take note of the metrics you have been tracking in your Monthly Daily Trackers and be sure to complete the Month in Review as well as your Monthly To-Dos, and new month in review.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.
For those looking for tips, tools and ideas about remote work and support for your remote teams, be sure to check out these tags and resources.

#TEAMS365 #2101 – Welcome to October – Continued Focus On Remote Work

10/1/2019

This month we are going to look at several interesting topics including:

The variations of remote work
Remote Team Tools
Getting organized in the remote space
Performance Reviews in the Remote Space
Remote Myth Buster – Things need to take longer
Setting up the team for remote team success – Going back to the basics

Given that it's the start of a new month, let's take a few minutes to look back at September and consider what's important for your month ahead.

AS you think about September, make sure you have captured your thinking around these questions:
1. Key successes in September were...
2. Lessons learned were....
3. Next month I will
4. Something which surprized me this month was...
5. Something I want to replicate is....
6. Other things to note are..

Questions to consider as we step into October:
1. What are your top 3-5 goals this month?
2. What needs to get completed, no matter what?
3. What habits and practices do you want to lean into?
4. What do you need to say NO To?
5. Who do you want to collaborate with?
6. My theme this month is....
Be sure to check out yesterday's post as well about Q4 planning.

Look forward to diving deeper into the remote work space this month!

Best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.
For those looking for tips, tools and ideas about remote work and support for your remote teams, be sure to check out these tags and resources.

#TEAMS365 #2039 – Monthly Round up and Month in Reflection

7/31/2019

This month we have explored a variety of topics resonant for the mid-year rhythm:

Digital Detox
Work-life
Focus
Simplification
Habits
Creativity

What are you noticing about your work flow and energy right now?

As we step into the month of August, the work routine may adjust once again, AND I hope that you will be able to return back to these posts once again.

Today is the last day of the month, signalling a time to pause and take stock on what the last month was like, and do some planning for the month ahead.
Here are a variety of questions you may want to explore:
Looking back to the month of July:

What are you pleased with achieving?
What didn’t get completed but is going to be carried forward?
What strengths did you leverage this month?
What got in the way of your plans/achievements?
What helped to MAGNIFY or AMPLIFY things?
What helped you FOCUS?
What helped you SIMPLIFY?
What else is important to note about your month? (metrics, lessons learned, other…)
What did you do to renew?
What habits did you lean into?

Looking ahead to the month ahead:

What are your major goals?
What do you want to focus on?
What do you want to let go of?
What will help you simplify?
What will help you MAGNIFY or AMPLIFY?
What habits do you want to focus on?
What relationships do you want to pay attention to?
What actions/projects do you want to complete, not matter what?
What else is important to note?

Enjoy your reflection!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1979 - Stepping into a New Month

6/1/2019

Welcome to June! What’s exciting about this month for you? What are your new goals?

As we step into a new month, I’m excited to be focusing on undertaking a mid-year review with you this month. We’ll be reconnecting with some of the core activities that help teams and organizations excel:

Team Tune Up
Systems Check
Feedback and Performance Check
Coaching and Mentoring
Streamlining Meetings
Presentations
Knowledge Management – Capturing Successes and Strategic Issues

It’s also an opportunity to take stock of the past month and look ahead to what you want to create in June. Before we go further, I hope that you will take a few minutes to explore these questions. Grab a pen and journal and let’s go. Given that we are stepping into the middle part of the year, what do you want to note about what you want to create by the end of the month? By the end of Q2?

Here are some questions to consider:

As you reflect on May, what have been your successes and accomplishments?
What are you most proud of?
What successes this month do you want to duplicate? What has been some of your key learning?
What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need more attention?
What has helped your successes? What has hindered?
What does your team need to be acknowledged for?

As you look to June, consider these questions:

What are your key priorities for June?
What are the key goals?
What are the major priorities?
What will you need to place attention on?
What changes do you want to make in June?
What resources do you want to tap into?
By the end of the month, which will be the middle of the year, what do you want to make sure you have completed?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1978 – May Month End Review: Teamwork in Uncertainty

5/31/2019

This month we explored the topic of Teamwork in Uncertainty. From looking at the statistics of readers, it seems like it was a very resonant topic for those who visited the Teams365 blog this month. If you haven’t taken a look at this month’s posts, please be sure to check out:

1968 – Tuesday May 21: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Pivot
1969 – Wednesday May 22: Teamwork in Uncertainty - Comfort with the Unknown
1974 –– Tuesday May 28: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Strengths and Go-Tos
1975 – Wednesday May 29: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Synergies

As we step into the end of May, I thought it would be useful to reach back to one of the posts from last May on Prioritization.

One of the most disruptive things about disruption is the impact on our focus. Prioritization becomes a key skill set to cultivate.

Here’s what I wrote last May about leading in complexity -

“Prioritization is a skill set we draw upon regularly in times of complexity. Prioritization allows all team members to regularly scan and manage their workload.

Key to prioritization is:

Having the tools to prioritize
Feeling empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for managing workload
Understanding what is most important – to the different players of the team, as well as the different time frames you are working on (short term, medium term)

In past Teams365 posts I’ve explored a range of prioritization skills including the Urgent/Important Matrix (we often attribute to Covey), as well as a Decision Matrix where we weigh what’s important in making our decisions.

For more on the topic of prioritization, check out these additional resources:
This excellent article from MindTools.com - which has an incredible amount of other resources team members and leaders will also want to check out.

LiquidPlanner.com's article on How to Prioritize Work When Everything Is #1 - Read it here."

For those that are looking at prioritization through the lens of product design, you'll want to take a look at this excellent article 20 Product Prioritization Techniques.

In my books PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder I share four prioritization tools I use regularly with my clients and teams including the Urgent/Important Matrix and Strategic Issues Mapping.

The issue of prioritization takes on increased importance when we are working as part of a matrix or remote team. In these instances, our priorities may be varied and not as visible to ourselves and others. What is important for you to note around prioritization?

Best
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1947 – Month End Review and Reflection

4/30/2019

It’s hard to believe but here we are at the end of another month. I hope that you will take some time to build in a reflective pause to consider:

What have your major accomplishments been this month?
What goals have you achieved – for the month? The quarter? The year?
What habits and practices have helped you? what got in the way?
What projects have started? Ended? Will continue?
What resourcing has been useful? What else do you need to be successful?
What relationships are important to focus on going forward?

Looking ahead to May:

What are you top 3 priorities?
What are your top 5 goals for the month? (Be sure to note these on your Month in Focus, and Your Monthly To-Dos in the PlanDoTrack)
By the end of May, what do you want to make sure you have achieved?
What are the daily steps or consistent actions you want to undertake?
What relationships are important to foster?
What are key tasks that need to get done? (Write these in the Monthly To Do List is you have a copy of the PlanDoTrack)

If you prefer to have a reflective pause, join me and adapt the questions in the recent quarterly review I hosted earlier this month, as part of the PlanDoTrack series. If you are looking to a guide to take your insights deeper around your virtual business and teamwork, be sure to check pick up a copy of either the Coaching Business Builder (for Coaches) or PlanDoTrack (for virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs).

Enjoy the pause!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July. $129 US. Learn more and enroll here.

#TEAMS365 #1917: Month End and Q2 Review and Reflection

3/31/2019

It is the end of another month, and also a quarter. What are the key things you want to make sure you take note of, celebrate and review?

Here are several questions you will want to explore as you consider month and quarter end:

Reflecting on March and/ or the entire quarter:

What have been your successes this month?
What didn’t work? Why?
What are the changes you would make in the future to that?
What has been your biggest learning?
What habits have supported you?
What things have gotten in the way?
Where have you been getting your results?
What metrics do you want to note?

Looking ahead to the next quarter or the next month:

What are the things you need to prioritize gong forward – next month? Next quarter?
What do you need to say "no" to?
What resources are going to help you be successful?
What relationships are critical for success?
What do you want to make sure you are communicating? To whom?
What do you want to make sure you schedule time in for?
Thinking about your metrics, what are the things that you want to track on a regular basis. What are the goals you hope to achieve or hit around these in the next period?

Last week I enjoyed leading a session using a new Quarterly Review form. I made this supplementary form available to those who receive my PlanDoTrack newsletter. If you'd like to become a subscriber and receive this monthly newsletter related to planning, and virtual team issues, please sign up here.

I hope that you will find some time today to celebrate your learning and achievements for q1. Please pass this link on to others who could benefit from some reflection and planning time.

Enjoy your reflections,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July. $129 US. Learn more and enroll here.

#TEAMS365 #1887 – Monthly Review & Looking Ahead

3/1/2019

Welcome to the month of March! This month we are focusing on teamwork, skills, foundations and what’s important in today’s virtual space.

I write about virtual teamwork, virtual facilitation and collaboration in two of my more recent books – Effective Virtual Conversations which was released in 2017 and the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner (2019).

If you didn’t catch it, be sure to check out some of my earlier calls this year including:

If you didn’t hear, I’ve created an entire on-demand course around the 19 Productivity Tips series. It is now available as a video-based program, where each tip is accompanied by a short video with me, and a one to two-page worksheet/resource guide.

I will also be hosting two live calls a month which started mid-February, to answer questions and also share additional resources. These calls will also be uploaded to the program resource site.

It’s a great value and I hope you will find it beneficial and join us!

It’s the start of a new month, so here are this month’s planning questions-
Reflecting back on the month of February:

What were my major achievements last month?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which goals need to be let go of or changed?
What habits have supported me this month?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team?
As a leader, what notes should I make about performance issues? (if I haven't done it already!)
The thing that has helped me be most productive in February was ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful in February was ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest in February ________
How I’m doing with my theme of the year (how I am living it, embodying it).

Here are some questions you will want to consider as you step into the new month –
Looking ahead to March:
My priorities this month are:

The one thing I want to make sure I get accomplished before the end of this quarter is….
The one thing I want to check off before the end of winter is….
The project(s) I want to get started...
The project I most want to wrap up is...
I want to leave ______ in the month of February.

Our team priorities this month are:
My top 3- 5 goals this month are ________.
My teams goals this month are ________.
I'll be really happy at the end of March when ________.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).